The Atlantic Mansion
by GreenAppleAddict
Summary: *ON HIATUS* Will be rewritten someday. Probably in the far off future.
1. Welcome to the Atlantic Mansion

**18 teenagers are invited to a secret project on a newly discovered mansion in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Strange things start to happen and jealousy as well as rivalry turns the teens against each other. But can you really afford to make enemies in such a haunted and dangerous place? **

**USUK – plenty of side-pairings.**

**Genres: Romance, Horror, Supernatural and Drama – with slight traces of Action, Mystery and possibly more genres in the future. **

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><p>Full of excitement, the American helped the driver pack his and his brother's luggage safely inside the cab. Beaming at his brother who made his way out of the house and towards the vehicle, he practically jumped into the backseat while impatiently gesturing for his twin to hurry.<p>

"C'mon, Mattie! We ain't got all day!"

"Actually, we do", the shorter blond replied, letting out a squeak as his brother dragged him into the cab.

"No, I'll _die_ if we don't get there soon!"

Sighing at the childish American, Matthew buckled up as the car started moving.

"Al, grow up, will you? There will be at least another thirteen hours before we arrive, anyway."

"Aww, c'mon! Aren't ya excited?" Alfred's azure blue eyes were close to glowing in the dim morning light from anticipation. This was all that he'd been talking about for the last eight weeks. Ever since that letter which invited the two boys to the mansion had arrived, the American's mouth had moved non-stop about it. The mansion, being a recently discovered building on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, was the place for a secret project some lucky teenagers had the chance to participate in. Or at least that's what they'd been told. None of the boys had heard of it before and it might as well be a scam for all they knew. Why the two twins had been selected escaped both of their minds. Their parents were normal office workers with no real connection to any higher-ups, and while they weren't failing in school, they weren't exactly the star students either. Not that it mattered. When an opportunity shows up you take it, right? Well, that's what they had done, and that's the reason why they were now heading for the airport.

"Of course I am", the shorter twin smiled, tucking a lock of blond hair behind his ear. The taller boy simply grinned back before picking up his iPod, turning on some American pop song on a way too loud volume. Matthew, glad to finally get some peace, sighed and rested his head in his hand, elbow on the car door, while watching the blur of grey buildings and trees pass by.

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><p>The flight had taken <em>forever<em>. And much to the American's disappointment, they weren't there yet. For some odd and completely unnecessary reason they had flown all the way to Iceland only to get on some random boat that would take them to the mansion. As they got on the fairly large boat, Alfred's complains just grew louder and Matthew fought to keep up a good attitude, failing however, as his brother started clinging to his legs. How they were both related – heck, they were even _twins!_ – he simply failed to understand.

During the several hour-long boat trip Matthew engaged in a rather interesting conversation with a personnel of the boat while Alfred slept away by his side. It seemed they would be the last of the eighteen teenagers to arrive. He also asked about the 'project' but was to be both disappointed and worried when none of the personnel knew anything about it. They had simply been given orders to take them to a certain spot in the sea from where another boat would pick them up to take them somewhere – somewhere that the personnel did not know of. After yet another hour, the boat slowed down and stopped roughly fifteen meters from a large cliff that peeked up above the water surface. The two brothers were told to wait, and wait they did. Alfred, who had woken up half an hour ago, fell asleep again and this time his brother joined him. Their escort was obviously late and after almost an hour of waiting even Matthew found it impossible to keep his eyes open.

God knows how many hours passed, but when one of the personnel finally came by to wake them up, the sun had already begun to set. Drowsily, the twins went to get their luggage but were told that it had already been moved. Both slightly confused, they were guided to the smaller boat that was parked just beside the bigger. As the twins gazed down over the rail, they found a man on the smaller boat smiling back at them. Dressed in rather casual looking clothes, the boys could see that he was rather well-built. The man's toned skin combined with chocolate eyes and slightly messy dark auburn hair created an instant impression of coming from the south. From where, the boys did not know of course. Until he spoke that is.

"I take it you are the Jones twins? Alfred and Matthew, correct? It's wonderful meeting you, I'm Mr. Romanum, but please, call me Rome", the man practically sang in a heavy Italian accent as he offered a hand to the boys.

Matthew, whose mind was clearer than his brother's, instantly reached for the man's hand.

"Oh, i-it's a pleasure meeting you too, Mr. Rom-" He didn't make it further though, as the man, instead of shaking Matthew's hand, took a tighter grip of it and pulled the startled boy down onto the smaller boat. With a yelp, the boy stumbled and nearly fell over board before finally gaining some balance. Rome simply patted his back and gestured for him to take a seat in between the luggage.

"You coming, sleepy head?" The man turned his gaze to Alfred who still looked half asleep, leaning over the rail of the boat. He had gained a bed head after brushing up against Matthew and his glasses were slightly misplaced. This, combined with the clueless expression on his face, reminded Matthew of all the times his brother had fallen asleep during class only to get questioned by their teacher the moment after. At first Matthew had saved him, but in the long run it had become a constantly annoying task, so he had simply decided that his brother had to learn the hard way.

Now, however, his brother looked completely clueless not because he didn't remember the name of their third president, but because he couldn't realize exactly what was going on. Squeezed in between multiple bags of baggage, his brother sat, gazing up at him with a slightly amused smile. Next to him, there was a man who smilingly held out his hand towards the American. Blinking, Alfred didn't think further and simply grabbed the hand. Letting out a cry of surprise, the blond fell down into the smaller boat – suitcases of luggage somewhat dampening his fall. Crawling up to sit by his twin, he heard the man start an engine, shout a quick goodbye, and then saw how he took his place behind the wheel and starting driving. Still drowsy, Alfred made a notable attempt to fall asleep again, but was constantly woken up as the smaller boat picked up speed and bumped against the Atlantic waves. Luckily, the day was quite still and beside the salty breeze from the boat trip, there really wasn't much wind either. Alfred barely noticed this – as he stubbornly tried to go back to sleep – but Matthew found it rather odd how it didn't blow more out there in the middle of the ocean. Knowing it would be pointless to try to make a conversation over the engine noise however, he simply fell into a state of daydreaming.

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><p>After arriving, Alfred had finally decided that he'd rested enough and was now completely awake, standing in front of the mansion with his luggage in his hands. Gazing up at the building, only five words came to his mind: 'old', 'gothic', 'creepy' and '<em>totally awesome<em>.' With a huge grin, Alfred turned around quickly to see if his brother and Mr. Rome had caught up. Anxious as he was, he had jumped off the boat as soon as it hit land, grabbing his luggage tightly and spurted up the road that, after taking several crooked turns through the woods, led to the mansion. Alfred really didn't think the word _'mansion'_ made the massive building justice though. _'Castle'_ was more like it.

Seeing how neither of the two males had appeared yet, Alfred simply turned around and headed for the huge courtyard. Spinning around in circles, the American allowed himself to get a full view of the gothic building. Grey layers of brick were covered by several climbers – roses among them – and the symmetrically placed windows had patterns of black metal carved into them. In the courtyard there were several flower arrangements which seemed to circle the huge stone fountain – meant to resemble some kind of huge water snake, most likely a mythological one, Alfred guessed – placed in the middle. Alfred made his way towards the fountain and sat on one of the stone benches next to it, taking in his surroundings fully. Even though he hated, really _hated_ ghosts, he was awestruck by the creepiness of the building. Exhaling slowly, he rose from his position and made his way to the entrance, stones clattering beneath his feet as he walked. The huge iron doors only made his grin grow wider as he grabbed the handle firmly and opened the door with an echoing creek.

The inside of the mansion matched the outside appearance perfectly. Besides the grey bricks, curtains and carpets of wine red and dark violet added to the dark atmosphere, and gold framed old fashioned furniture and paintings of all sizes filled the dimly lit rooms. Alfred entered what reminded of a crossover between a lobby and a living room. Facing him was a massive staircase of stone which led up to the second and third level, and considering the fact that all floors had very high ceiling, the staircase reached to fifteen meters above the ground. To the right side of the room, there was an open fireplace – not lit at the moment though – surrounded by several small couches and armchairs, all clad in crimson fabric. Two doors were also placed along the right side wall, while there were seven of them placed on the left one, accompanied by several old-fashioned portraits.

Alfred simply stared into the massive room for a couple of minutes before he had finally taken it all in. There were no people in the room, but on his right side there was a huge pile of luggage he assumed belonged to the other teens. After dumping his own baggage in the pile, he stormed into the first door to his left, thoughts of his brother and the Italian man completely forgotten. The room he entered existed of a simple wooden armchair, a couple of paintings, another door, and a small staircase. Taking no further interest in the room, the American quickly skipped up the stairs only to find himself in a hall that seemed to stretch across the entire building. Considering the size of the mansion, that probably wasn't the case though. Even if the hall seemed eternal, he knew the building was way larger. Windows facing the front of the mansion ran along one side of the hall, the fire-like light bathing the grey bricks with colour.

Choosing a casual-looking wooden door, he slammed it open with excitement. The inside of the room gave the impression of being rather small, maybe because the walls were packed with bookshelves of different sizes, standing so close together that not even a air could force it's way in between. Unlike the rest of the building, the floor was wooden and covered with a moss-green carpet. Two armchairs were placed in the middle of the room with a small table between them, on which a game of chess was placed. The American did however not notice any of this, for his eyes were staring at something else.

A boy was sitting in one of the armchairs with a book in his hands, and when the American had stormed into the room he had averted his gaze from the pages and was now staring into a pair of baby blues. Alfred had never seen such an intense green gaze before. It was as if the other's emerald orbs were staring deep into his soul, devouring him completely. Alfred felt his heartbeat quicken as he took in the rest of the other's features. The boy was smaller than him – though not necessarily younger – and his figure was slender, almost feminine, though Alfred quickly decided that it fit him. His skin was all over pale, almost porcelain looking, except for his cheeks where a faint shade of pink had appeared. A pair of unusually big and bushy eyebrows was raised in a questioning expression, but rather than take away from his looks, it added further character. Framing the boy's delicate face were chops of messy sandy blond hair. Alfred could feel how his heartbeat increased further and blood started rushing to his cheeks. He broke eye contact for a brief second to get a full view of the boy's entire figure before locking their eyes again. The other wore a – clearly ironed – white dress shirt with a black waistcoat, a pair of red plaid pants, which Alfred could have sworn he saw a chain with skulls hang from, and a rather casual looking pair of black shoes. Alfred's heart skipped a beat at the other's over-all appearance and let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding.

He'd noticed that the boy had scanned him when he first entered the room and now neither of them had any reason nor wish to break eye-contact. The silence that lingered between them was very awkward indeed, and both desperately wanted to end it, though neither of them were quite sure how. The shorter boy was first to take initiative. He cleared his throat before opening his mouth in a question, but the clang of a bell interrupted him.

_Cling-cling cling-cling cling-cling_

Alfred turned around to gaze down the hall before he turned back to the other boy, who now had risen from the armchair. Alfred felt how his cheeks grew hotter and shot him a questioning look. The other mimicked his blush before clearing his throat again.

"They want us to gather in the lobby." He said, avoiding eye-contact, and turned around to return the book he'd been reading.

Alfred felt his heart skip a beat at the sound of the others British accent, and simply nodded as he stepped out of the doorway to make room for the other who exited first. Closing the door behind them, the American followed the boy down to the lobby in silence.

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><p>"Ah, Mr. Kirkland, Mr. Jones, there you are! Will you please join us?" Alfred recognized Mr. Rome as he happily waved them over from a spot before the fireplace. Matthew along with a few others turned around to look at the two newcomers, though while the others shot curious glances, Matthew looked like he would leap up and kill his brother any minute.<p>

"Hey guys, what's up?" The American greeted with a huge smile as he skipped over towards the small group of people and took a seat on the sofa next to his fuming twin. Some of the teens replied with a small 'hello' and smiled while others shot the American annoyed glances. To Alfred's disappointment, the boy he met in the library ignored the free seat next to him and sat in one of the armchairs across the low table instead.

"Well then, now that we all have gathered, you youngsters must be dying to get to know each other, no? I have this erm... rubrics cube here! I thought we could throw it around and, you know, you tell us your name when you get it, where you're from and anything else you think we should know of?" Several sighs were heard and some of the teens exchanged '_is he serious?_' glances, but no protests were heard so the Italian took it as clearance to continue. "Well, as you all know by now, I'm Mr. Romanum, but I insist you all call me Rome! Along with my friend here, who prefers to be called Germania, I started this project which we're going to tell you all about later." Everyone's attention was now turned to the tall man who'd silently watched from the shadows of the lit fireplace. Long blond hair covered most of his face and he didn't even bother to look up as he grunted something muffled – probably a 'hello' or some other sort of greeting. One of the tall, blond teens turned his face to the floor, as if ashamed, and an albino guy sitting next to him snickered while roughly patting his back. "Right then. Feli, catch?" The Italian man laughed as he threw the cube in a perfect arch to one of the boys who was sitting on the sofa. The boy reminded a lot of the older man, in fact, he almost looked like a younger version of him. Light auburn hair with a stubborn curl sticking out on the left side of his head. With cheerful amber eyes happily examining the rubrics cube that had landed on his lap, he almost gave the impression of being a little dopey. When he finally spoke he showed everyone's suspicions to be very true.

"Thank you, Grandpa Rome! Well, my name is Feliciano Vargas and I'm from Italy. Oh, and also, I _really_ love pasta! You're turn, _fratello_!" Some knowing glances were shared in the group as the younger Italian passed the cube to the guy sitting next to him. Unlike his cheerful brother, this boy was sitting with his arms crossed, a pouting expression on his face. Even though his eyes were green and his hair clearly darker than his brother's, he had a similar hair curl. Only difference was that his was sticking out on the right side of his head.

"Whatever. This is fucking stupid anyway." All of the teens – except for the ever happy Italian – were taken slightly aback by the boy's attitude. It didn't match his brother's or his grandfather's at all. A tanned brunet quickly recovered though and gave out a faint chuckle. "I'm Lovino Vargas. Also Italian. I really don't care, so whoever; catch!" The boy's cheeks had turned red at the sound of the chuckle and he desperately tried hiding it by looking down at the floor, throwing the rubrics cube up randomly in the air as he did so. The cube was close to smashing into the table, but a delicate hand graciously shot out before it made contact with the wooden surface.

"Watch it, you idiot!" The brunet called out before leaning back in his armchair again, brushing off his already spotless clothes as he did so. After clearing his throat and adjusting his already in-place glasses, he spoke again. "I apologise for that. My name is Roderich Edelstein and I'm from Austria."

"Ve, but you don't sound Australian..." The cheerful Italian brother noted. A couple of heads nodded in agreement.

"I'm _Austrian_, not _Australian_!" Roderich snapped, his violet eyes ablaze. Nobody dared to comment any further, so the brunet cleared his throat once again in an apologetic gesture before nodding towards a girl sitting in the armchair next to him and handing her the cube. The girl giggled slightly while tucking a curl of long light brown hair behind her ear.

"My name is Erzébet Héderváry, though Elizaveta might be easier to remember? I'm Hungarian. It's nice meeting you all." The girl smiled before locking her hazel eyes with a pair of ice blue ones across the table. She threw the cube to the tall boy – though he actually looked more like a man than a boy – who caught it easily with one hand. Straightening his back and running his non occupied hand over his slicked-back blond hair, he spoke.

"I am Ludwig. I come from Germany. I'm looking forward on working with you all." He nodded his head in a greeting gesture which was mimicked by some of the other teens.

"Right, right, _bruder_. You don't have to be so damn serious, ye know? _Chill_. Just gimme the cube already." Some glares were sent towards the rude albino who ripped the cube out of the taller German's hands. "Yep, Ludwig is my awesome _bruder_. But I am the even _awesomer_ Gilbert Beilschmidt! Oh, and I knew you guys wouldn't mind, so I brought my awesome Gilbird with me too. Say 'hi' Gillie!" The albino snickered while patting his pet chicken, which had gone unnoticed by the other teens until now. Letting out a satisfied 'pip', it snuggled up on the German boy's shoulder. Not giving it much thought, Gilbert followed the still blushing Italian's example and carelessly threw the cube up in the air. This time a hand grabbed it mid-air and everyone's gazes were turned to a grinning American.

"'Sup, people? My name's Alfred F. Jones and I'm from the U.S of A!" Winking at the Hungarian girl (who giggled in reply), he gave the group his signature grin before handing the cube to his more soft-spoken brother.

"R-right. My name is Matthew Williams. I am a Canadian citizen, but I currently live with Alfred in the states."

"You guys live _together_?" The albino asked, leaning forward from his position on the sofa to get a better look of the two. Before Matthew could answer, Alfred quickly put an arm around his shoulders and pointed at the two of them with his thumb.

"Of course we do, dude! Mattie and I are bros!"

"T-twins, even." Matthew managed to stutter out, clearly uncomfortable with all the attention they were getting. The rest of the group fell silent while staring at them in disbelief. The tall, muscular, overly confident guy and that short, slender, nervous boy were _twins_? Just brothers was hard to believe, but _twins_? That was just out of this world. Sure, they were both blond (though Alfred's was dirty and Matthew's longer and more on the platinum side) and they both wore glasses, but besides those two features there wasn't much that hinted of the two brothers relation. Even their eye colour was slightly different; Alfred's were of intense sky blue while Matthew's almost looked a bit purple-ish. But if you squinted, you could actually see that despite their very different facades, their faces looked awfully alike.

Matthew, who was now feeling very uncomfortable, twisted a little on his seat before giving the rubrics cube to the other guy sitting next to him. The guy gave him a small smile in return and patted his head.

"_Merci, Mathieu_. My name is Francis Bonnefoy and I am from the _très__ belle_ France." This boy looked more mature than the others with blond and wavy shoulder long hair, bright blue eyes, and hints of facial hair. Alfred could see how the boy he'd met earlier frowned in distaste at the sound of the other's thick French accent.

"Just get on with it, Frog-face." Some of the teens tried desperately to suppress laughter at the British boy's insult, but most failed, and a choir of snickers filled the room.

"Ah, Arthur, _mon cher_, why do you hate me so?" The Frenchman said with acted hurt in his voice. Winking at the Brit (who scowled in return), he rose from his seat and placed the cube on the Briton's lap, squeezing his knee as he did so. Alfred could feel his insides turn at the flirtatious gesture, and the Hungarian girl just barely managed not to squeal.

"Sod off, Francis", Arthur spat back while watching the amused Frenchman return to his seat. "I sincerely apologise for that – for _him_. My name is Arthur Kirkland and I'm from the UK. England to be more precise. It's a pleasure meeting you all." He nodded his head in a greeting before making eye-contact with a dark-haired boy sitting diagonally across the table. After making sure the other was prepared, he threw the cube in an arch. The boy caught it, after fumbling a bit, and looked up from his lap with a slight blush.

"M-my name is Kiku Honda. I am Japanese. It's an honour working with you all." While speaking, the boy had risen from his armchair and was now making a 90 degree bow. All of the teens gaped at the overly-formal Asian boy, except for the blond German and the Briton who gave him approving smiles.

The cube was then passed to a small blond boy with bright violet eyes. He presented himself as Timo Väinämöinen – a Finn. A Swede who was sitting on the sofa next to the German boys got the cube next. He was slightly taller than Ludwig, had neatly trimmed blond hair and a pair of glasses which framed his clear-blue eyes. His accent was thick and most found it difficult understanding what he said, but he seemed to call himself Berwald Oxenstierna. Unwillingly, he threw the cube to a loud Dane across the table who caught it with a huge grin – almost bright enough to challenge Alfred's. How much gel was used in his hair – one could only guess. It was completely gravity-defying and styled to give a sort of 'blow-feeling' to the thick spikes. Blue eyes and blond hair gave him a stereotypical Danish appearance.

"Mathias Anderssen here. Proud Danish viking!" At the 'viking', he flashed Berwald an enthusiastic thumb-up, his grin growing even wider.

Four people had yet to present themselves. Two of them were sitting in armchairs next to each other diagonally across the table from the Dane, obviously expecting to get the cube next. Mathias did, however, not pay any attention to them or the brunet sitting even closer to him. He stood up and, with some struggle, managed to get past the two Italian brothers who were sitting next to him on the sofa. He stumbled over Feliciano's legs and nearly fell, but managed to get a hold of a blond boy's armchair just in time. With a smile bright enough to put the sun to shame, he put the cube in the boy's hands. The new holder of the cube could have looked happier at the special treatment, but then again, he could have looked more irritated as well. The expressionless boy watched with dull blue eyes as the Dane returned to his seat before speaking.

"Lukas Bondevik. From Norway." His voice was as emotionless as his face. He took his good time re-attaching his cross-shaped hairpin, tucking back some hair which had fallen out over the left side of his face. Ignoring the curious glances he got (or perhaps not noticing them), he then threw the cube to an Asian-looking guy across the table. He presented himself as a Chinese known as Yao Wang before hesitantly handing over the cube to the tall guy sitting next to him whose eyes hadn't left the Asian since the beginning of the group-introduction. Now that he got everyone's attention, however, he averted his gaze (though not necessarily in a hurry) and examined the small gathering. The meant-to-be innocent smile he flashed each individual grew bigger as a couple of teens shuddered from the creepy vibes he was giving out.

"Hello everyone. My name is Ivan Braginski and I am Russian. It's a pleasure meeting you all." The contrast between him and Yao was almost comical when sitting next to each other. While the Chinese had long dark hair put into a silky ponytail, Ivan's hair was rather short and incredibly light – almost white. Being as tall as the Swede, Ivan easily towered a head over Yao. When his presentation was done he let his violet gaze fall back upon the uncomfortable Chinese after throwing the cube to the remaining teenager.

The guy yet to introduce himself was the one who had chuckled at Lovino. He let his emerald eyes fall back on the still slightly red Italian – who scowled and blushed fiercely – before speaking.

"Hola, amigos! My name is Antonio Fernandez Carriedo and I'm Spanish." The warmth of the Spaniard's smile was an incredible contrast to that of the Russian's. A couple of the teens even sighed and sank further down in their seats from relief.

_Clap. Clap._

Everyone's attention was turned to Mr. Rome who once again was standing in front of the fireplace – it was first now that they all realized he had left.

"Well then, I'm sure we'll all be great friends! Some of you even seem to know each other, no? It's getting a bit late so I suggest we all go to bed and continue with the information tomorrow. Now then, let's all get some sleep, shall we?" The man walked out of the small circle of furniture, close followed by his blond colleague. He quickly stopped, however, and turned back to the group with an apologetic laugh.

"Oh, and before I forget; welcome to The Atlantic Mansion!"

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><p><strong>AN**

**Wow, long introduction chapter is long ._. The others will probably be a bit shorter xD As for the pairings and stuff... There will be a lot of them, including some one-sided and love-triangles, but I'm not going to spoil anything ;3 USUK will be the main focus though (this will be a USUK fanfic after all) that much I can tell you xD **

**Soooooo, this is my first fanfic (I'm not really good with one-shots so it had to be multi-chaptered) xD While I have read plenty of fanfics, I'm still pretty new to this site and I'm currently trying to figure out how everything works ._. **

**Also, please take in mind that English is not my first language, and this story is un-beta'd (if someone would be an angel and beta this I'd love you forever!) so I'd really appreciate if **_**anyone**_** would point out some of my horrid grammar and leave some criticism! I really want to improve! :3**


	2. It is Hard to Move in the Dark

Alfred and Arthur walked towards their room in silence. All of the teen's shared rooms were scattered on the first and second floor of the mansion, and as nobody else's room seemed to lie in the two boy's direction, there was no one there to battle the awkward silence with them. Alfred had to admit that he felt quite excited over sharing a room with the British boy though. He couldn't explain why but a strange and tickle-ish feeling filled his stomach at the thought. But judging by Arthur's facial expression, he didn't feel the same way.

'_Try to think positive! At least it's not the Frog.' _Arthur casually glanced over at the American only to be met by a pair of curious blue eyes. The Briton wanted to spit something like: _it's impolite to stare, you know!_ But instead he just quickly averted his gaze to glue them at a seemingly interesting spot of the dim lit hallway, terrified by the uncomfortably hot feeling on his cheeks. _'Oh, bloody hell.'_

Alfred couldn't help but smile at the colour that now painted the other's face. He was just so – for the lack of a better word, Alfred told himself – _adorable_! He was still busy admiring the blush on the now uncomfortable Brit when the other came to a halt.

"This must be it, right?" Arthur looked up to examine the wooden door in front of him. The boys were standing on the second floor in a hallway that leapt from the west to the east side of the mansion. They were supposed to be right in the middle, but the size of the hall made it almost impossible to tell.

"Oh yeah, looks like it." Alfred swiftly flicked his gaze between the map and the hallway to confirm his response before reaching for the doorknob. He turned the knob and pushed, but immediately started pulling instead, as the door didn't move. "What's wrong with this-" He stopped his vain attempts to open the door at the sound of a throat being cleared. He turned around to face the Briton but flinched back as a metal object was shoved into his face.

"We were given keys for a reason, you know." Arthur furrowed his eyebrows as the American let out a realising 'oh'.

"Ha-ha, dude, I'd totally forgot 'bout that," Alfred replied, quickly snatching the key from the Britons hand to put it into the keyhole placed just above the doorknob (_why hadn't he seen that before?)_. After fumbling a bit with the lock the door finally opened with a complaining creek, and the taller boy curiously peeked inside. The room was, however, too dark, as there weren't any windows to fill the room with the now clouded moonlight. Alfred let his luggage drop to the floor in order to search for a light switch while the other patiently waited behind him. He found the switch, but as he turned on the light he instantly flinched back when something bright flashed from the ceiling. A 'wow' escaped his mouth as he turned his gaze up to stare in amazement.

"Oi, are you going to enter or what?" Arthur gently pushed on Alfred's back with his non-occupied hand, but the other stood glued in the doorway.

"Hey, dude, you totally gotta see this!" The Briton's frown instantly turned into a surprised expression as the other grabbed around his wrist and dragged him inside the room. Arthur felt the urge to yell at him, but stopped himself and turned his gaze to the ceiling which the American was now pointing at.

"What the bleedin– _What is that?_"

"Dunno, but it's totally awesome!" Both mesmerised, the two boys stared at the ceiling with their jaws dropped. There was a huge screen – but without borders (it seemed to simply blur out at the edges), they noted – covering the larger space of the ceiling. Displayed on it was a night sky, the moon and stars slightly faded by some passing clouds. _Passing_ clouds. The image was moving. "Gotta be some new high-tech stuff, huh." Alfred noted after a while.

"Indeed, but it seems a bit out of place, don't you think? I thought this place was supposed to be recently discovered and who'd go through the trouble of setting _that_ thing up?" The American just nodded, too consumed in other thoughts to actually hear the other. "Anyway, aren't there any other lights? That thing doesn't really help much." Arthur walked over to the wall from where Alfred had turned on the screen. Besides one switch that was turned up there were three other ones – identical to the first one – next to it.

"Uh... Oh, yeah, there were-" Alfred turned around to the other in sync with three wall lamps flickering on. It was first now that the American realised how little light the screen actually had given, so he sent Arthur an appreciative smile. The other simply gave him a weird look before inspecting the room.

Green and red along with a dark wooden colour clearly dominated the room. A dark green wallpaper with a flourish pattern ran across the walls, hidden by two wardrobes and couple of paintings of landscapes. Incredibly enough, there were two king-size beds placed by the right-side wall. It was first when noticing this that Arthur realised how big the room actually was, but considering the size of the mansion, he guessed it was pretty normal. Two wooden bureaus were placed in between the beds with almost no space left to separate them, one of the wall lamps sticking out just above. Facing the door was a study desk along with a couple of bookshelves and a scarlet armchair in the left corner. The two wardrobes were placed on the left side of the room, framing a door that Arthur guessed led to a bathroom.

While Arthur had been busy going around and examining the room, Alfred had grabbed his luggage from outside the door, brought it inside, and dumped it in front of one of the beds before collapsing on it's the blood-red bedspread. The Briton turned towards the beds as loud snores filled the room. Sighing, he grabbed his own bags and placed them in front of the other bed. He quickly found and changed into a pair of pyjamas pants and a worn-out t-shirt before heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once he was done he decided to turn off the lights, leaving the screen on, however, as he wouldn't be able to see anything in complete darkness. He lay down in the other bed but couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh at Alfred who was – still fully dressed with his shoes and all – laying on the other bed and snoring rather loudly. _'How the bloody hell am I supposed to get some sleep?_' He shuddered. _'Well, he's still not the Frog.' _Those were Arthur's last thoughts before drifting off to a long desired sleep.

* * *

><p><em>The Italian man and his colleague were about to leave the room when a voice desperately called out.<em>

"_Wait, Mr. Rome!" The two men turned around and found that Elizaveta had risen from her armchair. "Sorry, sir, but where are we supposed to sleep?" Nods were given from the small gathering around the table. Mr. Rome only stared at first before once again bursting out in laughter._

"_Ha-ha, my apologies, my apologies... I seem to be a bit out of it." He started to search through a bag that he'd been carrying while walking back towards the fireplace. "You will sleep in rooms on the first and second floor... You'll be rooming two and two, I'm sorry if you siblings wanted to stay together, but for better results I wanted to split you up..." A weird silence filled the room and quizzical glances were shared. What _exactly_ was the project about...? And what kind of results? The Hungarian girl was, however, quick in breaking the silence again. _

"_But, Mr. Rome... I'm the only girl here. Will I also be rooming with one of the guys?"_

_A lost expression painted the Italian's face as his gaze wandered over the teens. He finally settled on Yao and raised his index finger hesitantly as he flicked his eyes between the Chinese and the Hungarian. _

"_Oh, I simply assumed..." More flicking. "Ah... I'm so terribly sorry! I've never been good with Asian names so when Germania showed me your photo I thought that you were..." He immediately fell silent when he saw Yao glaring daggers at him, a horrified and clearly insulted expression on his face. "Well, I'm not so sure of what to do now..."_

"_I'm gay, if th't 'elps." Everyone turned to stare at the tall Swede who had spoken up. Most jaws were dropped, but not in disgust or repulsion. Some actually stared in what could be taken as admiration. Elizaveta was now beaming, an expression of utter glee on her face, and those close to her heard something that sounded suspiciously lot like a squeal. _

"_Oh, _shit_, man! _You are? Mein Gott_, did you guys here that!" The laughing albino fell silent as both disgusted and slightly shocked glares were sent his way. "He-he, not that it's bad or something, right?" The German tried, hoping for approval. A heavy silence now hung over the group and the albino twisted uncomfortably on his seat, deeply regretting the words that out of habit simply had slipped out of his mouth. But judging by the bluntness of the Swede, he should have guessed it wasn't one of _those_ kind of groups. One of those groups which included the people he usually hung out with. Gilbert finally looked up from the floor – which he had turned to for the lack of better option since he seemed to be met by hard glares from everywhere else – and turned to look at his brother. Ludwig was not looking back at him. The taller German simply stared out over the table, an unreadable expression on his stern face._

_Mr. Rome was – luckily for Gilbert – noticing the albinos discomfort and was quick in saving him, cutting through the awkward silence with clearing his throat. "If that makes it better for you, Miss __Héderváry__?" _

"_Wha- Oh, yes. It does!" She gave Berwald an appreciative smile and gained a small nod in return. _

"_Alright then, I'll just make some small changes." The auburn-haired man fiddled with some papers he'd pulled out from his bag before announcing the roommates and handing out maps to_ _the rooms._

* * *

><p>"GAHHHHHH! <em>DAMN IT,<em> MY EYES!" That was what Arthur woke up to the following morning. But luckily he was still sleepy and safely hid underneath an ivory duvet from whatever caused the ruckus. "WHAT THE _FUCK_ IS THA-...?" A pause. "_Artie?_ Did you do something to it?" Aggravated now not only by the other's use of language but also by his choice to address him, Arthur quickly sat up and pulled off his cover in a fluid motion, a nasty insult on the way of leaving his lips when a sharp light hit him. He winced and shut his eyes, blindly searching for the fabric of his duvet, but soon coming to the conclusion that it must've fallen on the floor.

"Oh, bugger."

"Hey-hey, Artie, are ya okay?" Still having his eyes clenched shut, Arthur immediately flinched back as an unknown touch brushed against his shoulder. Letting out a manly yelp – no, he would not admit that it might have been an octave too high to consider manly – the Briton fell over the edge of the bed and landed hard on the wooden floor. He felt like not only his bum, but his pride as well, took a hit when he heard the other's chuckling from above him and heat rapidly rushed to his face. Now opening his eyes, he glared daggers at the grinning face watching him.

"You... _you bloody git!_ What are you looking at?" This however, only worsened the American's laughter and he desperately clutched his stomach and collapsed on Arthur's bed. "W-what?"

"Oh, man, you're _way_ too good! I never thought you'd _actually_ say that!" Arthur turned an even deeper shade of red and flew up on his feet. He grabbed the remaining milky sheets and gave a hard pull. He watched with a smirk as the American let out a cry of surprise and rolled onto the floor on the other side of the bed, landing with a rather loud 'thud'. The laughter instantly died and was replaced with a row of whimpers.

Now somewhat satisfied, the Briton finally managed to calm down and turned to look for the source of the bright light. He was not surprised to see that the screen was to blame.

Instead of an illuminated night sky, the screen was now showing the blue sky of a bright new day, with only the sun and not a single cloud showing.

"Well, would you look at that." Arthur had to squint in order to examine the screen, but seeing how there really was no reason for it, he headed over to the light switches, determined to turn the irritating thing off. He did forget that the screen was the only thing lightening the room though, and as he switched it off, the room became pitch black. He heard his roommate yelp and silently cursed that he'd let his hand leave the switch. He started lifting his hand again in order to search for the switches when something warm brushed against his bare arm. A shiver ran up the Briton's spine as the gentle touch started to wander up his arm. Snapping out of the momentarily trance, he harshly swung his arm around, attempting to slap the unwanted touch away and rapidly searched for the switch with his other.

"The bloody hell are you doing?" Arthur connected his back with the wall as his hand finally came across the switches and flicked them all on. Both he and the American immediately covered their eyes as the hard light struck again. After adjusting to the brightness, the Brit prepared himself to scold the American, falling silent however, as he saw the other boy still on the floor in between the two beds. "W-wha- Have you been over there this whole time?"

"Duh, of course I have, dude. It's kinda hard to move in the dark, ya know."

"Oh, yes, of course. How stupid of me..." Dumbfounded, Arthur now stood glued to the wall, eyes big and staring at Alfred in confusion.

"Eh, right... So should we head downstairs and look for breakfast? Cause I'm kinda starvin' here."

* * *

><p>After Arthur made his rather messy bed (Alfred offered to help, but the Briton insisted that he'd do just fine by himself), the two boys got dressed and ready for heading downstairs. Once down in the lobby they went over to one of the doors placed on the left side of the fireplace. They entered a kitchen which was empty at the moment; the still warm hotplates gave away the earlier activity of the room, before walking through yet another door which led to the dining hall.<p>

The room was very elongated and spacious, the walls and floor of grey bricks while the ceiling had a most peculiar pattern of roses and thorns. One huge crystal chandelier hung over an elongated table on the right side of the room (as seen from the two boy's view), the floor level a little higher there as it was separated by two barely noticeable steps from the left side. An identical table was also placed on the left half, this part of the room lit with the help of a few wall lamps placed along the walls. On the left side's table there were multiple kinds of food and liquids lined up, obviously meant as a kind of breakfast buffet. Alfred happily skipped over to this while Arthur turned his gaze up to the other half of the room. A few of the teens already sat and ate, some enthusiastically conversing while others remained silent, nodding a couple of times as if to show they were listening. He joined the American by the serving and grabbed an easy breakfast (unlike Alfred whose plate practically flooded over with food), before they both set off towards the others. The huge windows from that side of the room gave a warm and inviting light which gave the scenery an almost movie-like and welcoming appearance.

"Buenos días!" Arthur recognized the Spanish brunet who was sitting on the corner of the table, seated next to Roderich. "You two slept well?"

Taking a chair next to the silent Norwegian, who he greeted with a small 'hello' (which was replied with a nod), Arthur was just about to answer when his roommate slammed his plate down onto the table (and surprisingly didn't break) before exclaiming a loud "Pretty awesome actually! How 'bout you?"

"Good!" Feliciano and Timo answered in unison, both breaking out in laughter soon after which the others joined in on; the slight awkwardness from the day before momentarily forgotten.

"Excuse me, but do you two perhaps have a _screen_ as well?" The Japanese boy (who also was Timo's roommate) asked after they'd quieted down.

"Oh, yeah, there's this _huge_ thing in ceiling! It's just _so weird!_ Frickin' blinded me this mornin'." Arthur let out a sigh of exasperation; Alfred had once again spoken before the Briton even had a chance to open his mouth. "D'ya know what it is?"

"Well, I haven't seen it before, but it seems like it's adjusting after the time. Ours was dark last night and...uhm... _light_ this morning."

"Yes; so it seems. Ours was as well." Arthur quickly blurted out, determined to speak up before his roommate. He sent Alfred a discrete glare, but the American was too busy devouring his food to notice.

"I dunno what you're talkin' about. The awesome me and four eyes here don't have one of those."

"Idiot, that is because our room's got windows." Roderich said in a surprisingly monotone voice. It seemed as if he'd already grown used to being insulted by his rude, German roommate.

That was how the conversation continued between the present ten boys for approximately fifteen minutes – the rest of the teens joined in two by two soon after. Questions about the screens, the buffet, but mostly the project became being subjects that kept popping up.

Mr. Rome and Germania entered the dining hall at last and announced for everyone to meet them outside in the courtyard in half an hour, but as curious as they all were it only took them fifteen minutes to do so.

It was a beautiful day; the sky was a bright blue with only a couple of white clouds hovering around the horizon, the wind was still (perhaps from the cover of the trees) and the air slightly damp. The only thing taking away from the perfect scenery was the quietness of it all. No sound at all – not even birdsong – was heard.

"Okay, youngsters, please follow me!" Mr. Rome met them alone in front of the stone fountain. He didn't say anything more than that, so the teens simply followed him as he turned to walk along the east side of the mansion.

* * *

><p>"Hvad tror du vi vil gøre?"<p>

"English."

"Aww, c'mon! _Please?_"

"No." The Dane pouted at his Norwegian roommate. Even though he was paired up with someone who'd understand his native tongue the other still didn't want him to speak it. "And no idea."

"Well,_ I_ hope it'll be something cool! Y'know, this place is pretty weird, so we're bound to do somethin' cool or different, right?" He turned to look at Lukas again, expecting a reply but was to be disappointed when the other simply nodded. The fact that the other didn't acknowledge him started to get on Mathias' nerves. He'd tried to get the Norwegian's attention the whole evening, practically showering him with praises and signs of affection, _anything_ to make him show some emotion. Perhaps he even went a bit too far a couple of times. Giving your roommate a goodnight kiss on the cheek wasn't exactly what would be considered normal, but Lukas was driving him insane! Why was he so damn cold? It just didn't make sense to the Dane. Through his entire childhood he'd never met anyone who he couldn't befriend. That was why he was determined to be the Norwegian's best friend by the time that the project was over. His bestest-of-best-friends-of-all-time. He'd make sure of it.

"WOAH, look at that!" Mathias grabbed Lukas around the shoulder and pulled him closer while pointing with his other hand towards a large building. They'd just rounded the corner of the mansion and ahead of them lay a big glass dome. Plants and trees of different kinds were placed along the inside of its walls, making it look like a giant greenhouse. A couple of gasps and sounds of surprise were heard from the wandering group. Whoever lived there before sure had been wealthy.

Mathias watched intently for any change in his roommate's expression – he was surprised that the other hadn't shied away considering how close their faces now were. A huge grin broke out on his face and he almost felt like shouting out of joy; Lukas' eyes had widened and his jaw slightly dropped. For someone who hadn't been paying attention, the change was barely noticeable, but Mathias clearly saw an expression of astonishment – and perhaps even excitement – that slowly crept onto the other's face. "Looks awesome, doesn't it?"

"Ja." The reply was weak and strangled, but it thrilled the Dane just the same. Lukas quickened his pace and Mathias happily followed. The slight sign of emotion exited the Dane more than he'd admit.

* * *

><p>Arthur had been very thrilled over the sight of the greenhouse. His roommate looked quite excited too, but Arthur was pretty sure it was for a different reason. There was no way the American was the same as him, right? No, that wasn't very likely. Most of the teens looked at the building in amazement, so there wasn't anything special about Alfred. For some reason he couldn't help but hope though. The thought of having someone to talk with about the matter was very tempting to Arthur, but he doubted he'd ever find such a person.<p>

Once in front of the glass dome, Mr. Rome stopped to look for his keys in the bag he always seemed to be carrying, before proceeding to open one of the glass doors. Arthur watched with disappointment as most of the – to everyone else – invisible creatures ran away to hide as the group entered. A couple of curious pixies peeked at the teens from behind a few orchids, but that was as close as they went. Arthur could also see a small troll hurriedly run down the stone walk before diving into a bush as the gathering got closer. They walked to the middle of the dome where a stone circle free from greenery was, stopping in front of a small fountain with a statue resembling a mermaid. Benches of stone were placed along the edges of the circle and that was where the teens were informed to sit.

"Okay, everyone, welcome to the Floral Dome of the Atlantic Mansion! It's beautiful, don't you think? It is said to be a magical place to which the owner of the mansion would come in order to escape from the outside world. Not that I get why he needed do that, this place already seem pretty shielded from the rest of the world, no? Anyway, the reason why we are here is so that you can use it for inspiration! Germania will be here shortly with canvas and pencils-"

"Hold up, old man! Are you saying that we're gonna paint? Fucking _paint? _The awesome me will not be doing that!" Everyone watched with fear for the Italian's reaction – that albino just couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut. But to their surprise; Rome broke out in laughter. It was evident that no one had expected that. Gilbert looked really uncomfortable where he sat, almost crawling up into a ball and hiding behind his tall brother. The older man soon calmed down however, as his colleague made his way into the building, two cloth bags dangling from his hands.

"Okay, okay" the Italian said, accepting the bags of canvas from Germania. "So, yes, you will be painting. But you will not be painting _of_ anything. You will simply use this dome, or the space outside, for a setting. I want you all to paint something that either means a lot to you or something that simply pops up your mind. It can either interact with the setting you've chosen or have nothing to do with it at all. You will have two hours, an hour's lunch break, and another hour to finish. Okay, any questions? No?"

"Yes! Is there a reason why we're doing this?" Yao had spoken up, a dark eyebrow raised and arms crossed in slight suspicion.

"Oh, we will hang them in one of the hallways later. It's all part of the project, but it's rather complicated so I'll tell you all about it later at dinner. Any more questions?" The building remained silent. "Well, off you go then!"

Everyone was given a canvas and a set of colours and pencils before they split up. Most stuck together with their roommates, which irritated Arthur greatly. He hadn't asked the damn American to follow him! Why couldn't he just bugger off and go look for his unfortunate twin? Yes, Matthew was very unfortunate. Arthur had stuck along long enough yesterday to hear that the boy had been paired up with the Frog. Poor, poor boy. Arthur felt relieved that he didn't spy any of two and guessed that they must have gone outside. The garden around the mansion was quite lovely after all. But who'd bothered to keep this place in shape? It sure didn't look like it had been uninhabited for long.

The Briton hadn't bothered to go anywhere and had simply sat down on one of the benches – Alfred hadn't sat with him from the beginning but came over after grabbing his canvas. There were spiral staircases of metal circling up the sides of the dome with a small platform at the top. He'd seen that Dane drag his roommate up there and thought Antonio and Lovino went there as well. It was hard to see who the four silhouettes belonged to through the metal floor.

"So, what are ya gonna draw?" Arthur turned back to look at Alfred who was now staring at him with big, expectant blue eyes. He realised that the American had leaned in closer and that their faces now were a little too close for the Briton's comfort.

"N-never you mind." He replied while moving away as discretely as possible. He actually had no idea of what do draw. At first he'd thought about painting a fairy or unicorn, but if he did that he'd probably get questioned about it later. That stupid American obviously wouldn't be open minded and would-

Arthur's train of thoughts was cut off as a loud shriek echoed through the glass building. He turned his gaze up in sync with all the others remaining on the ground floor of the dome.

"_LUKAS!_"

A boy was falling.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**Wow, I actually thought I'd get longer with this chapter, but I guess not xD I really didn't think it'd be this long before I finished either, but homework and mep parts got in the way ._. Sorry about that. I've considered making the chapters shorter and upload more often but there wouldn't be much progress in them then. And I'm still not sure if all chapters will be of this length but since I'm not very good at writing short things they probably will be for now xD**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS AND ALERTS! I really didn't think I'd get any at all so you have no idea how happy I was when I saw them (especially '****logged out lolol Pendulums'' and ****animewatcherfreakmal****'s)! ****w I'd really love to hear what you think about this and if you have any ideas (I'm quite open for suggestions). The reviews were pretty much what encouraged me to keep on writing, so please keep them coming! Also, please tell me if someone's completely OOC or if you're wondering about anything. I'm not used to write for all of these characters so there probably are some mistakes. As for pairings; I still won't reveal any, but you did get a little bit of DenNor in this. More pairings will appear in the upcoming chapters (and that was of course not the last DenNor) though USUK will, obviously, still be centered.**

**I know there haven't been much horror in this yet, but believe me, I've got plenty planned out. **

**Well, English is still not my first language and this is un-beta'd so some constructive criticism would be lovely! **

**Also, I am aware that 'bestest' is not an actual word xD**


	3. You Did Not See Anything

"Ludwig, Ludwig, what are you painting?" The cheerful Italian asked as he leaned over to look at his roommate's canvas. The two of them had left the dome along with a few others and were now sitting in the grass of a small hill. There was a lush and unusually colourful garden surrounding the glass building, but instead of staying there they'd gone further east to a few open fields. The landscape on the east side of the island was very wide and open, only cut off by a dark forest approximately 100 meters away. Wildflowers grew all over, painting the green hills in different shades of red, blue and violet.

"Ein Kaninche- _rabbit_. I am painting a rabbit." Ludwig answered, examining the creature on his canvas sceptically. It was supposed to be a rabbit, but it looked more like a failed cartoon character from a discontinued children's show. The German had never been very gifted artistically. He'd always preferred physical activity over anything creative, and his parents were just fine with that, so practising on his painting skills wasn't exactly a daily occurrence for him.

"Oh, I see..." Feliciano paused, trying to make sense of the – apparently supposed to be – animal. "It's very cute!"

"You think?" Ludwig looked up from his painting and into a pair of gleeful, amber eyes.

"Of course, it's very unique!"

"Thank you... What about you?" The other boy tilted his head slightly in confusion, imitating a lost puppy, but with joy still radiating from his eyes. "What are you painting?"

"Oh, this!" Feliciano picked up his painting and held it up in front of Ludwig. A gasp escaped the German as his eyes widened in disbelief. An extremely detailed and well-drawn church was placed on the hills before them, contrasting but still somehow managing to blend in with the colour-dotted grass. Ludwig was no art expert, but he was pretty sure that the painting easily could place in any art gallery.

"Y-you painted that? And in this time?"

"Yes! It's a church from home. Me and Romano used to go there all the time."

"Oh, I see, it's beautiful. But you don't do that anymore?"

"Well, I do, but _fratello_ stopped a couple of years ago... Our parents still think he does though, so don't tell anyone!" A mix of uncertainty and questionable trust settled in the Italian's eyes at the last statement as he looked at Ludwig with a still childish, but serious expression.

"Oh, I promise I won't. But I thought Catholics were pretty strict about that."

"Yes, of course we are. I'm not sure why he stopped coming, but he said he didn't want to talk about it, so I never asked..." Something sad swept over Feliciano's features, washing away the last of his previous glee, and his eyes became distant, staring off into a flower-clad hill. To see his mood change like that somewhat troubled the German and he couldn't help but wonder if he'd done anything to cause it – even though it obviously was because of the mention of his brother. Ludwig hadn't realised how much he'd enjoyed the other's easy-going nature and vibrant smile before now. At first it had been a bit annoying but he easily grew used to it after learning that it was the Italian's natural behaviour. The depressed and down character didn't fit him in the least, and Ludwig desperately wanted do say something to brighten up the mood, but seeing how doing such never was his strong side; he simply remained under a painful silence.

A sudden cold breeze swept over them, causing both of the boys to shudder.

"It's getting a bit cold, huh?" Feliciano remarked while clutching his arms, moving his hands rapidly to regain some heat.

"Yes, but fall will be here soon so we might as well get used to it."

"Ah, _sì_. I guess the flowers actually are a bit wei- is that Francis?"

Ludwig turned his gaze towards the mansion and saw that Francis indeed was running towards them, a hand gripping his black beret tightly so that it would fly off his bouncing golden locks. Behind him he thought he could glimpse a second blond figure as well, but didn't pay any further attention to it as the Frenchman started shouting.

"You two! Hurry, hurry!"

"What?" Feliciano said weakly, more meant for Ludwig to hear than the two incoming blonds.

"Is something wrong?" Ludwig asked when they were within hearing distance. Now he could see that there indeed was another blond accompanying Francis. He only knew him as the twin of Alfred, seeing how the American had made quite a bigger impression than his brother the previous day.

"That Scandinavian boy," he panted, "he fell."

"What do you mean 'he fell'?"

"Well, unfortunately not for my charm- _OUCH!_"

"This is serious, Francis!" The shorter blond said, now stepping forward – it appeared as if he'd stomped on the Frenchman's foot, thus earning the other's cry. "Lukas, the Norwegian, fell from the top floor of the greenhouse!"

"What? Oh no." An expression of alarm and utter horror came across the Italian's face, much to Ludwig's dislike.

"W-we were told to gather in the lobby immediately" Alfred's twin stuttered – or panted – out, pulling at his roommate's sleeve as if to hurry up the process. Feliciano let out a stressed 'okay' while Ludwig nodded, both immediately rising to their feet after grabbing their stuff. Soon, the four boys were on their way back towards the mansion.

* * *

><p><em>God, his head hurt. What had happened? He couldn't remember a thing. Completely surrounded by darkness with none of his senses responding, it felt like a nightmare. Wait a second... He knew that voice! It was that loud and obnoxious voice that seemed to have called his name non-stop for the last 24 hours. That loud and obnoxious voice which belonged to an equally loud and obnoxious Dane. It was now calling his name once again, only difference was that this time it was in a desperate and pleading way, unlike that usual begging-for-attention one. <em>

_It was terribly annoying to be able to hear nothing but those calls – he wasn't even able to cover his ears! Come to think of it; he actually couldn't feel his ears, or his hands for that matter. He couldn't feel anything at all._

* * *

><p>"Lukas, Lukas, please! C'mon, please wake up! <em>LUKAS!<em>" Mathias was sitting on his knees by the Norwegian's side, begging to the limit where he was almost sobbing, for the other to open his eyes. The Dane had never handled sad endings of any sort – neither in reality nor stories – very well, so seeing his roommate lie motionless before him was breaking his heart. Well, he wasn't entirely motionless; his chest kept rising and sinking, though very slowly, signalling that the boy still was alive. It was a miracle that he still was breathing; it wasn't every day that someone survived a fifteen meter fall, if ever. Perhaps he'd fallen into some rich bushes and thus dampening his fall, Mathias wasn't sure. He actually hadn't seen where his roommate fell, too caught up in the moment; he'd simply panicked and dashed for the stairs.

Mathias hadn't been able to reach his roommate before, even less now, and it was close to tearing him apart. If the other boy ever woke up – or even survived – the Dane was more determined than ever to befriend him. To not be able to communicate and get in contact with others had always been one of his greatest fears, and he wouldn't let himself fall prey for it. Actually, he figured, perhaps it wasn't lacking contact that scared him; maybe it was being alone that he feared the most. His parents never paid him much attention or gave him the love he needed when he was younger, so he'd turned to friends instead. Now that he thought about it; he actually hadn't spent much time at home, even at night he was usually sleeping over at a friend's. That was one of the reasons why the invitation to the mansion had been so appealing to the Dane, to be able to escape his home even if just for a couple of weeks was a chance he'd jump for any day. The fact that it wasn't for a couple of weeks but for an undetermined time (though they'd been told it wouldn't be longer than eight weeks) had made it even more tempting.

He hadn't counted on this though. The cruel twist of it all was laughing him in the face, and never before had he wanted to reverse time so bad.

His body and mind remained in trance until a light touch was placed on his shoulder.

* * *

><p>Everything had happened so fast. From the first scream to the panicked cries that followed, Alfred had a hard time registering it all.<p>

Arthur had leapt from the bench, quickly making his way towards the plants in which Lukas seemed to have fallen into. Alfred's hero instincts – yes, he'd gained them from watching too many overly American movies (and not to mention the comics) – instantly kicked in and he too rushed to the Norwegian's aid, if it was possible to aid him at all that is.

As he got closer he saw that Mathias had already run down from the top floor and was now sitting by his roommate's side, roughly shaking his shoulders while screaming his name.

"Oh God, what happened?"Arthur asked as he got closer.

He didn't receive any reply though. Mathias was too consumed in own thoughts and actions to take notice to the arriving people.

Shortly after; Antonio and Lovino were down as well, panting rapidly from the run.

"Is he alright?"The Spaniard asked. "What happened, Mathias?" He wasn't answered either.

"Didn't you see anything? You two were up there as well, weren't you?" The two dark-haired boys shook their heads.

"No, he just stepped back and fell."

"He did _what?_"

"What happened to the poor boy? He's not... Is he still alive?" The two grown men were now there as well, both appearing relatively calm considering the situation.

"Yes, he appears to be breathing." Arthur had walked over to the unconscious Norwegian and was kneeling by his other side, not daring to move any further though, as he didn't want to disturb the sobbing Dane who was clinging onto the boy.

"Good, good, we must get him inside, then. Will you tell everyone to meet us in the lobby?" Mr. Rome turned to Germania who gave a stern nod before running out of the dome. "Now let's get him back to the mansion."

"I'll help!"Alfred immediately offered, tired of just standing useless by the side. He walked over to the three boys and patted Mathias gently on the shoulder. The Dane looked up for the first time since the small chaos broke out and stared at the American with moist and blurry eyes. It was evident that he'd cried, though he wouldn't likely admit it later.

"Dude, we need to move him." Alfred received a nod before Mathias rose to his feet, picking up Lukas bridal-style. "I can carry him if you'd li-"

"I'm strong enough." Alfred nodded. "Where to?"

"The lobby."

Mathias answered with an 'okay' before carrying his roommate out of the dome as quickly as his legs would let him.

* * *

><p>"Wait; there is no one with medical education here?" The looks on the two boys' faces as they exchanged glances of disbelief was a mix of equally as much surprise as anger.<p>

Arthur and Yao had gone to confront the project-leader about their future plans once Lukas was placed on a sofa in the lobby – there was no sign of Germania, but almost all of the teens had arrived and kept Mathias company. Rome had walked up to the third floor via the giant staircase and that was where the two boys caught up with him. "What if he's got an internal bleeding or something like that?" Their interrogation had already gone on for quite some time.

"I swear I'll sue both you and Gerry if anything happens to any of us!" Yao's gaze was as intense and full of dismay as his voice was sharp.

"Now, now", The Italian raised his hands in a defensive gesture, "let's calm down-"

"And just why should we? Someone almost... might still _die! _Since when was that a reason to remain ca-"

"CALM DOWN NOW!" Both of the teens flinched back at the sudden outburst from the grown man – they certainly hadn't expected that from the cheerful and easy-going Italian. They couldn't other than remain silent under shock at the sight of Rome's raged face. "The boy will NOT DIE and he DO NOT suffer from internal bleeding. NOW, will you two _please_ go down and wait in the lobby with the others?" A smile had returned as the man uttered the last few words, the rest of his face still remaining grim though. The boys were too traumatized to answer, so they simply decided that action spoke louder than words and began to walk back to the staircase. Arthur spared the dim lit hallway one last glance before heading downstairs, but the project-leader had already gone elsewhere.

"What _was_ that?"Yao asked when they were halfway down "I didn't just imagine it, did I?"

"No. No, you did not."

* * *

><p>The teens waited in the silent lobby for nearly an hour before Rome returned again – Germania had disappeared as soon as the group was gathered (it almost appeared as if he didn't care about Lukas' well-being at all). He said that everyone was free to finish their painting if they wanted to since the drastic event had ruined the earlier mood. Some did just that and went outside – even if they didn't feel like it any longer, painting seemed to be the only way to make time flow and avert their minds from the accident. Mathias, Alfred, Arthur and Antonio were the only ones left remaining in front of the fireplace – Lovino had gone back to his shared room (while he wasn't unaffected by the event, he simply didn't see the point in staying by the 'dead' guy's side).<p>

"Shouldn't we get him to a hospital?"Arthur asked after a while. "He obviously needs to be examined and I don't think we can expect any help from here."

"Yeah, but... they clearly told us that we couldn't leave the island before the project was over," Antonio stated, a frowning expression of though on his face (which really didn't fit him).

"To hell with the rules! W-what if he _dies?_ I... _We_ can't let that happen!"Mathias snapped at the Spaniard, releasing all his built-up misery on the nearest man. "You were the last to arrive, right?" He turned to Alfred who nodded. "Do you know where the old man parked the boat?"

"Sorry, but I sorta ran ahead of him and Matt. I think he just left it at the shore, but my bro'd probably know."

"Yes, yes, it's all good that we've found a boat, but shouldn't we just ask instead? Surely they wouldn't keep him here in his conditio-" Arthur fell silent as he remembered his and Yao's earlier encounter with the Italian man. "Never mind. Shall we go and find your brother, Jones?"

"Dude, it's Alfred! Jeez... But, yeah, did anyone see where he went?" Silence. "Well, uhm... Let's split up and look?"

"You do that; I'll stay with Lukas." The three boys nodded at the Dane before wandering off in different directions. Alfred and Antonio went outside while Arthur roamed around the mansion – some of the teens had gone back to their rooms, so that was where he decided to check first.

He couldn't remember where the two French-speaking boys' room was situated – had he even learned in the first place? – so he strolled around the ground floor for quite some time, opening countless of doors only to either find the room empty or realise that he'd wandered in circles. Numerous low curses could be heard echoing through the hallways for nearly an hour before the Briton found the right door. Yes, the door was indeed the right one, but the person inside most certainly wasn't.

"Ah, _mon cher_, miss me already?"

'_Oh, bloody hell, no.'_

"'Ello Frog." Arthur sent the Frenchman a disapproving glance. "Would you happen to know where your roommate is?"

"You seek Mathieu? What interest could you possibly have with him?"

"None of your business." Arthur eyed the other suspiciously; the small smirk and mischievous glint in his eyes were very unnerving. "Well, do you know or am I wasting my time?"

"Ah, I can assure you that I am never a waste of time," Francis said as he winked and sat up on the bed on which he'd been lying. '_Oh, that's it. I'm out of here'_, was what went through Arthur's mind as he slowly stepped back to exit the doorway, still facing the Frenchman.

"Sod off, wanker." Arthur turned to exit the room when a hand shot out and grabbed around is wrist, stopping him abruptly.

"Now, now, why don't you stay for a while? It's clear that you've missed me, _mon cher_." The hand pulled Arthur around and he found his own emerald eyes staring into a pair of blue ones.

"Unhand me, you bloody wanker!" A heavy scowl fell upon Arthur's face as he tried to yank his hand away from Francis' grip, but to no avail. "It's been over six months, and I think I made it quite clear back then that I never wanted to see your bloody face ever again!"

"Ah, your words hurt me, Arthur. How can you be so cruel?" Francis stepped forward out into the hallway and pushed Arthur playfully up against a wall. The impact was not strong nor meant to hurt, but Arthur grunted anyway, though more from annoyance than pain. He wriggled under the Frenchman's grasp as the other took a hold of both his wrists and pinned him against the wall.

"Go die in a fucking ditch, Frog," Arthur spat with so much detestation that it was enough for three persons. It was not any weird or unsuspected reaction, because quite frankly; he hated Francis. The memory of the two of them together felt more like a nightmare than a horrible memory. Who knew, perhaps that was just what it was; a long-gone unpleasant dream. His current feelings towards the other made it almost impossible to imagine that he'd ever liked him, ever harboured the slightest of feelings besides those of hate for the Frenchman.

"Now, _mon cher_, don't be like that," Francis purred as he let go of Arthur's left wrist and rose his hand to brush against the Briton's cheek – which went a faint shade of red from the touch, whether it was from embarrassment or rage, not even Arthur was sure.

"Git, get away from me!" Arthur started to panic and pushed at Francis' shoulder with his free hand as the other leaned in closer to his face, his lips curved in a mischievous smirk. "UN-_BLOODY_-HAND ME NO-"

"HEY, let go of him!" Arthur and Francis spun around simultaneously at the call from down the hallway, both equally surprised by the sight of Alfred leaping towards them, as if he would be attempting to break an invisible brick wall. Francis immediately let go of Arthur and took a couple of steps back when he realised that he most likely was the American's target. Arthur started massaging his wrists (more for the effect than need) as Alfred reached his side, eyeing him with concern before turning to the Frenchman. "Seriously, dude, what the hell do you think you're doing?"Alfred asked – or more like barked – at Francis, who barely flinched at the so far only verbal assault. Alfred didn't look like he'd physically charge the Frenchman, seemingly satisfied with just threatening this time. If he'd actually done anything further against Arthur's – or anyone's – will, Alfred told himself, he wouldn't be so lucky, though.

Francis' surprised, if slightly thoughtful, expression turned into an amused grin as he tilted his head to the side with a small chuckle leaving his mouth. "My, my, Arthur," Francis said as he turned his gaze to the Briton, "found ourselves an _américain_, now have we?"

Arthur's still slightly pink cheeks went a deeper shade of red, and his face scrunched up into an only half-hearted scowl. "H-he's my roommate, wanker! What the hell are you implying?"

"Ah, _mon cher_, I was not implying anything. You are simply misinterpreting my innocent remarks," Francis chuckled, a couple of decibels louder than before.

Alfred watched as his roommate turned his flushed face to the floor, staring rather intensely at his shoes – he was happy that the warmth that'd crept to his face at Arthur's question didn't seem to show. "L-leave him alone, Franklin," Alfred blurted out quickly, satisfied with his almost unnoticeable stuttering. He was glad to have finally silenced the Frenchman, though the other was giving him a rather odd look.

"My name is _Francis_,_ américain_."

"Oh, yeah, of course it is." Now Alfred was sure that his blush just _had_ to be showing. _'Fuck this perv-'_

"W-what is going on?" Going unnoticed by now, a second boy appeared to have come with Alfred, silently trailing behind his back.

"Mathieu, how wonderful to see you! Arthur here was just looking for you."

"Ah, yes, of course," Arthur said as he averted his gaze from the floor to look at the smaller blond. "Hello, Matthew." Matthew greeted him back with an uncertain smile.

"Right, so we should go now." Alfred grabbed around Arthur's arm and gestured for his twin to follow them back through the hallway. He stopped after a few meters though, and glanced back at the Frenchman. "If you try anything on him again, I'll fucking kill you."

"Alfred!" Matthew looked up at his brother in surprise. Alfred just continued to drag Arthur down the hallway, inwardly making a mental note to question Arthur later. Matthew couldn't other but follow after shooting his roommate an apologetic glance. Francis simply smiled at him, the amused expression never once leaving his face as the others disappeared around a corner.

* * *

><p>"Yes, he just left it there," Matthew confirmed as he sat down in one of the scarlet armchairs. Alfred had explained everything to him when he'd struggled to drag him away from Gilbert and Roderich – they'd been having a quite heated discussion about whether Prussia still counted as a country or not, in which all three had slightly different opinions. The two of them almost hadn't noticed Matthew leaving. You'd think he'd be disappointed, but he'd grown used to it over the years. He always seemed to be forgotten in the shadows, a lot of times because he was overshadowed by his loud brother.<p>

"Great, let's go then!"Alfred said and rose from his spot on the sofa.

"Hold on, shouldn't we at least tell someone we're going?"Arthur asked as he forcefully pulled on the sleeve of Alfred's jacket, forcing him to sit down once again.

"Yes, about that," this time it was Antonio who'd spoken, "all of us going would just be a nuisance, and I think it'd be better for me to stay here. I can tell Rome that you've left."

"That'd be great, thank you. But we don't have the keys to the boat, so we'll need to ask for permission any-"

"I got the keys," Mathias said, cutting Arthur off. He received weird and quizzical looks from all in the small gathering (except from Lukas, of course), so he quickly added: "I didn't steal them from him or something! They were just laying in the staircase."

"Oh, so he just _happened_ to drop them on the stairs, and you just _happened_ to find them?"Arthur asked suspiciously. "Quite convenient, huh?"

"Oh, c'mon, I'm not a thief! Really, I swear," Mathias tried again. The look on Arthur's face said clearly that he wasn't convinced, but he didn't bother paying it more attention, and settled for an exasperated sigh.

"Well, what matters is that we've got a boat. I still think it'd be wise to test the keys first before bringing Lukas down though."

"Right, Artie and I will head down first then," Alfred said and rose from his seat once again, bringing Arthur with him this time, "keys, please?"

After receiving the keys from Mathias, Alfred dragged Arthur with him towards the doors, ignoring the continuous protests of 'my name isn't Artie, you git!'

Antonio left the others shortly after to retreat to his room – if he went and informed the project-leader about their plans earlier, there was a risk they'd be stopped. And Matthew was once again forgotten, choosing to go back to his room as well as he was curious about the earlier event involving his roommate.

* * *

><p>"What the fuck?"<p>

After a hurried walk down to the shore, the two boys stood frozen in place, staring out over the water. The boat was there just as Matthew had said, but that wasn't what caused the boys' confusion. The surface of the water – and probably more – was frozen. Ice crystals shimmered as far as they could see, glimmering from the warm afternoon sun. It didn't add together.

It had been unusually warm ever since they set foot on the island, and some of the teens had even worn t-shirts earlier that day. Now, the ice seemed to stretch over the water as far as they could see, killing their plan of escape.

"What the _fuck_," Alfred repeated again, "How is this even possible?"

"Mind your language, git. We're heading towards autumn, so technically it isn't _that_ weird. The climate might work differently here?"

"Are ya kidding? It's freaking warm, dude! And there's no way all this froze over night."

"Well, obviously there is a way because it bloody _happened_," Arthur said, trying to think logically, though there really wasn't any explanation that made sense in his mind. A sigh. "We won't be leaving here this way."

"Right, we _totally_ gotta tell the others about this!" Excitement took over Alfred's voice as he jumped around and began to walk back to the mansion, Arthur following him deep in thought. "This place is _so_ weird!"

* * *

><p><em>He'd heard their voices as they'd made plans of getting him to a hospital. He would've agreed with them and told them to hurry if it weren't for his senses being shackled to some unknown part of his brain which he could no longer access. Besides hearing, nothing in his body was responding. At first he'd thought about at least trying to open his eyes, but that thought was sent away as he couldn't feel his eyelids. <em>

'_What I'd do for a hot bath.'_

_He heard sounds of somebody walking, their footsteps slowly fading away, indicating that they were leaving. Soon, Mathias' voice filled his ears again with calls and reassuring words. He really didn't get why he still spoke to him – was he even aware that he heard him? 'Well, perhaps it's more for his own than my sake', he thought. He was very grateful that his mind still worked perfectly, though perhaps it would've been easier to just sleep considering that he didn't know for how long his body would stay immobile. He didn't even want to consider the fact that he might never open his eyes, never truly feel _anything_ again._

_After a while, the people from before returned; this time accompanied by yet another pair of footsteps. A new voice quietly spoke before the others broke out in conversation again. Soon, he could once again here them all leave, and the Dane resumed his quiet chant._

"It'll be alright, Lukas. We'll get you to a hospital. There's no need to worry; you'll be okay. Everything will be allri-"

Mathias stopped his attempts at soothing as the body beneath him twitched. "Lukas?"

'_That was weird', Lukas thought. He hadn't tried to move, yet his arm had surely jerked, as if on its own accord. He was happy to actually feel his arm again, but as he tried to shake some motion in it, the arm wouldn't budge._

"Lukas? Lukas!" Mathias eyes widened as the unconscious boy started to toss slowly, still with his eyes closed.

_Something was wrong. Really, really wrong. He felt his body move – he felt _himself _move – but he was not in control of it. It was like lying still with someone else deciding your movements. His motions grew more vivid and he could feel his arm slapping against something above him. 'Probably Mathias,' he thought._

_Suddenly, he stopped moving and fell back upon the sofa before slowly feeling movement creeping into his limbs again. He sat up stiffly and could hear a quiet, curious call for his name before he opened his eyes. At first his vision was blurry, but the sharpness soon returned, and his head turned to the left. His eyes met with the surprised ones of the Dane._

"Lukas," Mathias exclaimed and pulled him into a warm embrace, resisting the urge to sob into the crook of the other's neck.

"Hello, Mathias."

_Lukas froze inwardly. He had not spoken those words. They left his lips with his voice, but the words were not his. He hadn't chosen to speak them. Something – or _someone_ – else had._

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**Did I mention this would contain past FrUK? Oh, I didn't? Well, it will :3**

**Anyway, last a/n was a bit long, so I'll try to keep it short this time. **

**Thank you so much for all the reviews and alerts, and please keep 'em coming! They're pretty much what encourages me to write, so the more reviews, the faster updates you'll get. **

**If you got any questions at all or thoughts of my *cough*horrible*cough* grammar, feel free to ask :3**

**I'm also pretty open for ideas to this fic, so if you got any; please share! **

**Thank you for reading!**


	4. Do You Believe in Ghosts?

"Oh, Lukas, thank God you're alright!"Mathias said, enveloping the other further into the embrace.

"I'm fine," the shorter blond chuckled, "thank you for worrying."

Something in the back of Mathias' head reacted at that seemingly normal remark. It would have been normal coming from anyone else, but during the short time he'd known Lukas, saying as much as a whole sentence and even going as far as chuckling was something highly abnormal for the guy. Perhaps it had something to do with coming back from unconsciousness and a short shock that followed the accident? Mathias wasn't sure, but he couldn't bring himself to care much either – he was just happy that the other was okay, and the fact that he wasn't entirely emotionless anymore was just taken as a bonus.

"HEY GUYS!" A loud voice belonging to Alfred boomed through the hall as he slammed – or more like _tried _to slam – the heavy front door open, "You'll never guess what we saw down there! The ocean's totally-" Alfred came to a halt as his gaze met that of a second blond sitting next to Mathias, eyeing the newcomer with amusement. "Dude, you woke up!"

"I did indeed," Lukas nodded, a casual smile slowly creeping onto his pale face.

"Awesome. Look, Artie, I told ya he'd be okay."

"Still not Artie," Arthur murmured as he followed the American inside, still silently cussing when his eyes fell upon the awoken boy, "Oh, hello Lukas."

"Arthur," said boy greeted.

Neither Alfred nor Arthur knew the Norwegian at all, so to them there was nothing off about his now more receptive behaviour – if you could call it that. Mathias decided to see through it as well, thinking that Lukas perhaps just needed time – or in this case; an emotional awakening – in order to warm up to others.

Slowly, a conversation of questioning Lukas and discussing the frozen water broke free, growing more vivid as Antonio, Lovino and Matthew joined in later on. In the end they all forgot about informing the rest about Lukas' awakening, so when they all met up for dinner in the dining hall the Norwegian was showered with attention – which he handled surprisingly composed and politely considering what he'd just gone through. Several asked him where he fell, or more precisely, _how_ he'd survived that fall. Lukas simply said that he couldn't remember anything about the fall or what had caused him to trip over the railing in the first place. Mathias had earlier insisted on being unknowing as well, so that matter was quickly forgotten.

Even though a rather large dinner buffet was served, there still weren't any signs of adults. Rome had told Ludwig and Feliciano that he'd left to hang up the paintings in a hallway and wouldn't be joining them for dinner. Nobody had heard anything from Germania, but they all simply assumed that he was accompanying his colleague. Nobody cared to pay this topic much attention either, so this was also pushed aside in order to talk about more pleasant and interesting questions about stuff like families and interests.

Time seemed to flow by quickly, and the crystal chandelier above the table had begun to brighten up the room, indicating that the sun was setting outside. Around 8 o'clock they'd all grown tired from the eventful day and retired to their rooms, more or less sleepwalking on their way there. Francis, Matthew, Gilbert, Roderich, Ivan and Yao decided to stay up though (some more or less forced by their roommates), and sat down in the furniture circle in front of the fireplace of the dim lit lobby, chatting or whatever else they found enjoyable.

Mathias asked Lukas if they shouldn't inform the leaders about his awakening and so far wellbeing, but Lukas assured him that there was no need and that they simply should rest, so they too decided to simply retire. On the way back to their room Mathias began thinking that perhaps this would be a rather pleasant experience after all.

* * *

><p>"<em>So<em>," Alfred began as he sat down on his bed, dressed in a pyjamas consisting of boxers and a t-shirt, "do you know Frenchie from before?"

He watched as Arthur stiffened, freezing in the middle of pulling off his dress shirt. Slowly he began undressing again, pulling on a black t-shirt before crawling up to hide underneath the ivory blankets of his bed, tugging them so that they covered his face. "Yes," the half muffled answer came at last, "and thank you."

"No prob', man, but do ya mind telling me how?"

"How what?"

"How you know him."

"Yes, I do mind actually."

"Aww, c'mon! Why not?"

"It's private. I don't need to tell you."

This, however, only increased Alfred's curiosity further.

"Please?"Alfred tried again, turning over in his bed so that he faced the hidden Briton, "We'll practically be livin' together for the next couple o' weeks. There won't be much privacy between us then anyway."

Arthur could feel his cheeks heat up from the probably meant-to-be innocent remark, and silently thanked his covers for hiding his face. "Being roommates doesn't automatically make us best friends," he replied, refraining from adding 'git' to the end of the sentence, seeing how Alfred was just trying to be friendly.

"But we totally could, right?"Alfred asked and sat up using his elbows, trying to get a better view of the other – though the duvet was covering him entirely from head to toe. "I mean, you seem like a pretty cool person, and we already get alo-"

"Look, what you did today was kind, but I can assure you that I'd been just fine on my own," Arthur cut him off, getting more annoyed and confused with the situation. He didn't want to hurt Alfred, but he got a weird and unnerving feeling whenever they were close. Whether he liked it or not, he wasn't sure, therefore keeping him at a distance felt like the better option. "Don't take it personal, I just didn't come here to make friends."

The silence that followed was as uncomfortable as it was perplexing; he couldn't possibly have taken it that bad, right? It wasn't like Arthur had given him any misleading signals. He actually hadn't showed any signs of liking the American at all, so there shouldn't be any reason for hard feelings.

Arthur's worries instantly died however, and were replaced by new ones as he felt something dip down on the left side of his bed. The pressure in the mattress increased further and Arthur could feel someone leaning over his person through the duvet, surrounding him by placing an – supposedly – arm and a leg on his other side. He stiffened underneath his cover and he willed thoughts of the lingering touch from the morning away as they uninvitedly returned. Panic struck him as he felt his cover being removed from above his head. Coolness swept over his face and he quickly shot out his left hand to grab around the intruder's arm. With the duvet removed, Arthur found himself meeting an azure blue and surprisingly concerned gaze.

"What _exactly_ is your relationship with the Francis?"Alfred asked in a monotone voice, eyes still fixed on Arthur's.

'_What? Oh, the git can't possibly be serious!' _"W-what the bloody hell are you talking about? I thought we'd dropped that topic! Get off me, git!"

"But you never answered me," Alfred said with a shrug, his voice calm and casual, contrasting to the shouting Briton underneath him, "You're close, aren't you?"

"What if we are? It's none of your bloody business!"Arthur yelled, digging his nails into the other's arm, not so hard that it drew blood, but hard enough to deliver the message. He heard Alfred grunt above him, but instead of getting off him he twisted his wrist around so that he got a hold of the Briton's arm and Arthur was forced to let go of his.

"Calm down dude. I'm just asking you to answer me. You're overreacting."

"_I'm_ overreacting? Couldn't you bloody interrogate me from your own bed?"

"You'd never answer me if I did that." Alfred pouted. "I'm just curious, okay?"

"You're more curious than for your own good then," Arthur retorted, using his free arm in an attempt to sit up and push the other away from him.

"Aww, c'mon Artie! Ya can't seriously expect me to leave it alone after what he did to ye in the hallway." He noticed the Briton's movement and countered with leaning forward himself, grinning as the other blushed and immediately lied down again.

"F-fine, yes... Yes, we were quite close. But we aren't any longer, so just forget about it."

"Okay... Exactly _how_ close were you?"

"That's really none of your business!" Arthur could feel his face heat up further. He hadn't any idea of how the other would react if he told him – or why Alfred was asking in the first place. Sure, he seemed like a nice and non-judgemental kind of guy, but still. If they were going to share a room for the next few weeks, revealing his sexuality would be a most stupid idea. There of course was that tiny, tiny chance of Alfred being the same, but just how small was that chance? He surely didn't look gay. No, not at all. Alfred looked quite the opposite actually; like the guy who always had multiple girls surrounding him and was dating the – labelled – hottest girl in school. _'Very much like that stereotypical quarterback found in all American high school series and movies,_' Arthur thought. There was no way he would tell him.

'_And he's avoiding it again_,_'_ Alfred thought. Considering what he'd seen in the hallway it was actually pretty obvious that the two of them were together in the past – or at least had _some_ kind of relationship –, but he still wanted Arthur to say it out loud to confirm his thoughts. Why was he so persistent not to tell him? An idea suddenly struck Alfred and he once again leaned in closer to the other's face. He'd wanted to test his theories about the other ever since he'd first laid eyes on him in the library. There would be consequences if he was wrong, but he figured it was worth the risk. "_Please_, Arthur?"

"What are you doi-!" Arthur stopped his voice as a pair of soft lips met his. It was just a simple peck, nothing too intimate or suggestive – it could probably even be considered a friendly gesture in some cultures – but Arthur's blush ten folded none the less.

"You two were dating, weren't you?"

Arthur stuttered something incomprehensible and tried to turn his head away – which turned out a bit harder than he'd imagined since the other's face was still hovering close above him. "A-are you b-b-_bloody_ mad!"

Alfred only laughed at this. "Maybe. But you totally were, right? For how long? He doesn't really look like your type."

Arthur opened his mouth to curse him, loud and for long, when a cry echoed through the mansion, cutting both his mind and actions off. The boy above him was startled as well, and immediately flew up on his feet, gaze flicking around the room like a madman.

"Not there, not there, not there, _not there!_"Alfred began to chant in a frenzy.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?"Arthur asked as he'd managed to compose himself, using his elbows in order to finally sit up.

"Hey, do ya believe in ghosts?"

"_What?_" Arthur only stared at the taller boy as he pulled on a pair of jeans, stumbling and tripping several times because of his apparent hurry.

"Never mind... Quick, we need to see what that was. I swear I've heard it somewhere before."

"Oh, yes, of course," Arthur mumbled as he climbed off his bed, hurrying after Alfred who'd already sprinted out of the room. The thoughts that had just minutes ago been swarming around in his head were now momentarily forgotten, lost in the adrenaline that pumped through his veins as he flew down the hallways.

* * *

><p>Once down in the lobby they found Berwald and Elizaveta, looking just as confused as them. It seemed they were either woken by the scream or had already gone to bed for they too were dressed in pyjamas.<p>

"You heard it too, right; the scream?"Elizaveta shouted from where she stood at the other end of the room.

"Yeah, c'mon, this way," Alfred yelled as he grabbed around Arthur's wrist and hurled them off in the direction of a door (the only one slightly ajar) while gesturing for the other two to follow.

Beyond the door they found themselves running down a rather large hallway, dimly lit by a few old wall lamps. Arthur thought he caught glimpses of the paintings that had been hung up earlier, but quickly dismissed it, seeing how it was out of interest, and turned to focus on the passing rooms instead, searching intently for the source of the scream.

They soon caught sight of a small group of people who were crouching next to two sitting figures. As they got closer Arthur identified them as Matthew and Francis, the latter rubbing soothing circles on the former's back while silently chanting comforting words in his ear.

"Mattie, bro, what happened? Are ya alright?"

Matthew flinched and looked up with wide, moist eyes at the call of his name. He was trembling, shaking violently with his teeth clattering – Arthur felt shivers run up his spine by just looking at him.

Francis hesitantly rose to his feet as Alfred neared and replaced him, hugging his brother tightly and asking what was wrong. Matthew began to stutter, but didn't manage anything comprehensible, so Alfred shushed him and resumed Francis' chant.

"What is going on?" Arthur found himself asking the Frenchman as the other looked somewhat composed. Francis turned to look at him before his eyes once again fell upon Matthew.

"He said he felt tired and went back to our room. We heard the scream and found him like this." Nodding slightly, Arthur swept over the gathering with his gaze. All those who had stayed up were present, plus the four who'd just arrived together; perhaps the others hadn't heard the scream – or simply didn't bother to investigate it. There was no sign of either Rome or Germania. "Whatever it was it sure made quite an impact," Francis added, shifting his weight over to his right foot and tilting his head slightly in hesitance, "I've never seen anyone this shaken before."

"Hey Artie, you wouldn't mind if Matt slept with us tonight, right?" Arthur found his gaze back on the American who looked up at him with most concerned and pleading eyes.

"O-of course not! Why would I?" Alfred gave him an appreciative smile and a nod before rising up and helping Matthew up on his feet. "Here, I'll help as well," Arthur offered as he took the Canadian's right arm over his shoulder – Alfred steadied him in a similar manner on the boy's left side.

The small crowd of curious and worried teens was soon dismissed by Francis after the three boys left, but had they stayed they would also have noticed the tense atmosphere that hung heavily over some of the boys.

* * *

><p>After walking back up to their room, more or less carrying the trembling Canadian up the stairs, Matthew collapsed on the floor as soon as the door shut close. Alfred immediately kneeled by his side as the shorter boy began to cry, and loud, uneven noises of sobs and hiccups filled the room. Arthur just stood silently by the side and watched, feeling utterly useless when not seeing any way to help.<p>

"A-Al... h-he- he..." Alfred bent over his twin and patted his back soothingly, encouraging him to continue. Matthew looked up at his brother and pushed away slightly, his movement evidently reluctant, before pulling up the left arm sleeve of his red hoodie.

Alfred's eyes widened in what could be described as shock and rage, and loud gasp escaped his mouth at the sight. Two long cuts ran down Matthew's arm, crossing each other and forming a choppy 'X'. One of them looked really deep despite being a flesh wound, seeing how it didn't bleed like the other one. The second cut seemed to have just grazed his arm, but it had cut through a couple of veins, causing hot red liquid to slowly pool over his arm. The hoodie seemed to have absorbed most of it though, and its red colour disguised the wound nicely. A choked whimper escaped Matthew and he put a hand to his mouth to hide his surprise. He had noticed that it bled, but not that it was that bad.

"The fuck? Mattie, shit, bro! The hell happened? H-how" Alfred continued to stutter incomplete sentences while shaking his head in disbelief. "Who did this?"He settled on shouting but immediately regretted it as his brother flinched from the loud outburst.

Meanwhile Arthur's own eyes had widened with shock and he couldn't help but bend down himself to inspect the boy closer. Matthew was clearly alarmed by the Briton at first, but adjusted to the new presence quickly – more or less comfortable with having an as good as stranger watching him in that state.

"H-he... G-G-Gil... Gilb-Gilbert…"

"WHAT? That's the albino guy, right?" Matthew couldn't other but nod at his brother's question, once again breaking down in tears which averted his brother's attention from vengeful thoughts and back to him.

"We need to clean that... now. Can you raise your arm, Matthew? Preferably to above your head. Good. Now we need to get you to the bathroom," Arthur said, and was replied with a small nod from the bleeding teen who made an honourable attempt to rise up. The bleeding had almost stopped now, but some blood still seeped out of the cut slowly. "Alfred, do you know how to clean a wound?" The American gave a helpless sight and shook his head, muttering something that sounded like a 'no' under his breath. "Alright, help me get him to the bathroom and then go search for an adult, okay?"

* * *

><p>Finding an adult proved to be much harder than either of the boys had thought. Or at least Alfred hadn't, he wasn't so sure about Arthur. The American had looked through what he assumed to have been the whole second floor and was now heading downstairs for the ground one. The silence in the mansion was extremely unnerving for the boy, but he couldn't bring himself to complain. After all; it would have been worse if the wood creaked, some unnatural wind blew through the halls, or doors opened and shut on their own accord. Had that been the case he would have leapt back to his room and hid beneath the blankets of his bed. But then again, he did do this for Matthew, so it would probably take more than that to make him retreat back to the warm haven.<p>

Alfred's footsteps went silent as he stepped down from the stairs and onto a red carpet. He'd chosen to take the way he took the previous day when he met Arthur in the library. Now he was left with the decision of entering the lobby or start the search in what he assumed would be a hallway. He chose the lobby and was once again faced with many options. Figuring that he needed to hurry, Alfred started walking towards the door which they'd earlier entered in search for the source of the scream. The door was in the same condition as earlier as well; dark, worn, and slightly ajar. Alfred pushed the door open casually in fear of it creaking, and was just about to walk through when a figure caught his eyes. Standing next to one of the walls, Alfred could only make out the person's silhouette.

"H-hey," He said and watched the person turn their head to look at him. The dull lightening made it impossible to make out their face. "Do ya know where-," Alfred began, but didn't get further for the silhouette shifted and leapt down the hallway, leaving him at an incredible speed. "HEY!"The American called out, but the person was long gone. "What the-"

Alfred kept staring off into the darkness of the hallway for a moment before once again picking up his search. Whoever they were they sure didn't deserve his attention at a time like this.

After walking through the building for approximately 15 minutes without any luck, however, he began to grow impatient and set off running instead. More than a couple of times he had to apologise to sleeping teens whom he accidently woke when knocking on wrong doors. Too caught up in the haste, the idea of asking any of them for information slipped past his mind.

Thinking he had finally searched through the entire ground floor without any success, Alfred returned back to the staircase in the lobby panting, mentally preparing himself for yet another long search. He was only halfway up the stairs when a call of his name caught his attention. Alfred turned his gaze towards the sound and found them on his roommate who was smiling rather apologetic down at him.

"I take it you couldn't find them?"

"No, but I've just checked the first and second floor," Alfred replied, "They must be on the third... or the four-"

"Matthew's asleep. We managed to clean the wound somewhat decently, so let's pick up the search tomorrow? You look like you could use some sleep."

There was a short discussion, but after assuring Alfred that his brother would be fine they both went back to their room and slept through what remained of the night.

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><p>Matthew was more composed in the morning and managed to tell them about his traumatizing encounter. He described with horror how he'd returned to his room only to realise that he followed. When he first turned around and saw Gilbert he hadn't suspected anything – why would he? It was first when Gilbert grabbed around his arm that Matthew saw the knife the albino held in his right hand. The Canadian gestured wildly in the air at how he'd panicked and tried to pull away when the first swing was made at his arm. The voice that earlier had stayed suppressed in his throat broke free as the blade cut through his flesh, and he screamed. He described how the second blow probably had been directed towards his throat or chest, but how he'd raised his hurt arm in defence and thus gaining the second cut. Gilbert had suddenly stopped his assault and made a run down the corridor. Only seconds after he disappeared round a corner Francis had come into view at the other end of the hallway and immediately rushed to Matthew's aid.<p>

Alfred was furious and practically reeking of rage when his brother was done. They suggested that Matthew stay in the room while Alfred and Arthur went down to look for Gilbert and the project-leader. The Canadian was, however, too afraid of being left alone, so he ended up coming with them down to the dining hall.

Word about the previous evening seemed to have spread like wildfire for even those who hadn't been present greeted Matthew in a similar manner as to how Lukas was yesterday. The Canadian's gaze nervously flicked around the table, and he was relieved when he couldn't find the red-eyed German there. His Austrian roommate was present however.

"Right so about Matt's arm," Alfred began once someone put his brother's condition into notice. They'd earlier talked about how to break the news of Gilbert's assault to the rest of the group, and since Matthew refused to tell, Alfred was next in line. The American received gasps and wide eyes as he continued, not going into as much detail as Matthew had, but still somewhat specifically.

"But Gilbert followed you back to your room, did he not?"Francis asked as the American was done, turning to Roderich who looked deep in thought.

"Yes, but he then said he was going to grab something from the kitchen, so he went back..."

"Wait, so you to went back as well?"Arthur enquired. All eyes were now on the shifting Austrian.

"Yes, when Matthew left he announced that he was tired. Since he was the only one keeping me there I went back with him."

"Where is he now anyway?"Yao asked, gaze suspiciously focused on the shut doors.

"He was still sleeping when I left. His behaviour in the morning was very rude yesterday, so I didn't bother waking him."

"Let's go get him then!"Alfred announced, standing up harshly and raising his fist. "Who's with me?"

About half of the boys rose from their seats, exclaiming something like 'yeah' or 'I am'. Soon they were off with the lead of Alfred and Roderich, the latter rather uncomfortable in the front of what could be described as an angry mob, but still doing it, seeing how he was the only one who knew the way.

Those who were either not entirely convinced or thought accompanying Matthew was more important stayed though, and a tense silence hung above them as some choose to continue their breakfast.

"How is it possible...? Are you sure you were not mistaking?" Ludwig finally spoke up, pleading and helpless gaze fixed on the Canadian.

Matthew shallowly nodded before replying, "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be mistaking someone who... who-" He swallowed and chose not to finish the sentence.

Ludwig let out a miserable sigh before burying his face in his hands, confused thoughts raging in his head, causing a throbbing headache.

"It's okay, Ludwig. I'm sure it is all a misunderstanding." The German heard the voice of his roommate say, and was thankful when he felt a warm arm being placed over his shoulder.

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><p>Gilbert yawned loudly as he made his way towards the door. <em>'Fucking four eyes! The damn loser just couldn't wake me, could he? How could the awesome me end up rooming with him!' <em>In haste and frustration of realizing that he would be overly late (which was totally un-awesome) because of Roderich, he'd just grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and a black t-shirt, fed his chick quickly, and kicked his roommate's suitcase before heading towards the door.

Once out in the hallway he looked around with squinted eyes. After coming to the conclusion that he'd completely forgotten which way to take, seeing how the both directions looked identical, he simply shrugged and went right.

The German hadn't even turned from the first corridor when he was surprised by voices that seemed to be approaching. The owners soon came into view as Roderich and Alfred rounded a corner just down the hallway. Gilbert obviously hadn't expected that sight, and was even further surprised as more of the boys passed the corner. All of their expressions were grim and hard, and focused solely on him. The German felt himself gulp and halt in confusion. It was him they were staring at, right? He could understand why Roderich would for various reasons, but why was a whole crew with him?

"Hey, what's up?"He asked as they got closer.

"What's up? What's _fucking_ up? Oh, you're kiddin' me!" That was all he heard from the American before said boy's fist collided with his jaw.

With a grunt, Gilbert stumbled on the floor, his ego determined not to fall from the punch, before glaring up at Alfred who was staring at him with an equally intense gaze. He opened his mouth to say something, but instantly closed it as fire shot through his jaw. _'Fuck this guy! The hell is he doing?'_

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"Gilbert barked at the blond, flinching at the pain, and hand shooting up to cover his forming bruise.

"What the hell I think I'm doing? I'm fucking revenging my brother, you stupid fuck!" Alfred's right hand curled up into a fist again which he raised and prepared for a second attack.

This time though, Gilbert was prepared, and narrowly managed to avoid the punch while ducking right. His own hands curled into knuckles and were brought up to either side of his face, his knees bending slightly; he took a loose fighting stance.

"I've got no fucking idea what you're fucking talking 'bout!"He said before lunging forwards himself, dropping below an incoming left hook, and placing a punch in the American's solar plexus. From somewhere in the crowd he could hear an exasperated 'please do not misuse the language' which he inwardly rolled his eyes at as he took a few steps back to inspect his work. Alfred had bent over, clutching his stomach, and was gasping for breath. The German would have continued with the blows if he'd known why they _actually_ fought. _'Did he say something 'bout his brother?'_ "Why the fucking hell did you punch me?"

"Don't play stupid! You attacked poor Mathieu yesterday!" This time it was Francis who had spoken since their "leader" was currently unable.

"What are you talking about? I never-"

"_Shit!_ Look at his shirt!" A Spanish accented voice called out, and instantly all eyes were staring at the albino's shirt.

The loud gasps and horror-filled expressions that followed only confused Gilbert further and he too chose to examine his shirt. It took a second for his mind to register what he saw, but as the image cleared he let out a loud shriek and stepped backwards – as if backing away would make the garment disappear. Huge bloodstains were scattered on the front of his shirt, and worse of all, Gilbert could even feel the warm liquid through the fabric, indicating that it was very much real. He rapidly pulled of the t-shirt and threw it on the floor, all while screaming out of confusion and the horrible feeling of drying blood on his skin. He felt his bare back collide with a wall as he stumbled backwards, and bent forward while bringing a bloodied hand up to his mouth – a gesture meant to stop his screams, but also a useless one, seeing how his cries continued until they'd faded into mere whimpers. There was dried blood on his chest and stomach, palms and around his mouth. It was almost impossible for him to hold back the tears that wanted to sneak past his eyes out of bewilderment, but no matter how confused he was; his pride still remained with him, so he turned to face the gaping crowd with moist, but not tear-filled, eyes.

"W-w-w-w-w-wha-" Gilbert stopped his attempt at speaking when he realised how pathetic he sounded. _'Where the fuck did that blood come from?'_

He felt a sudden wave of nausea roll over him, and even though he desperately tried to stop himself, he ended up throwing up in the middle of the hallway. He heard cries of disgust from his audience, but didn't bother with them. He was too confused to put anything of what occurred together.

"A-are you alright?" Gilbert heard a concerned voice ask, and looked up to meet the dull gaze of a small Asian.

"I.." He felt the world spin around him. The pain, blood, accusations, confusion, nausea, none of it made any sense. His surroundings spun one last time before he felt his eyelids close, and he fell unconscious to the floor.

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><p><strong>AN**

**Wow, thank you so much for all the reviews and alerts! And I truly apologise for this chapter... I must admit it kind of sucks ._. Made a little progress though xD Sorry for being a bit late as well; I've been away to an internet free place (aka a relative's house) for the past week.**

**I'd love to hear your opinions so please leave a review! :3 Oh, and if there's a certain pairing you'd like to see please tell me, and I'll see if I can include them in some way ;3**


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